Remember the offseason arms race between the Patriots and Broncos? The winner was supposed to be declared this Sunday in the AFC championship game.

Instead, it's been decided already. The Patriots are still alive for the Super Bowl, and the Broncos are swapping out their coaching staff and, maybe, the quarterback for whose benefit it all was done.

Meanwhile, the defending champion Seahawks lost more free agents than they signed and are still in position to repeat, while their NFC opponent, the Packers, kept their spending to one aging pass rusher too expensive to stay at his old job.

Last March, as free agency opened, the Patriots were looking to stack their defense to stop Peyton Manning after his record-breaking offense had knocked them out in the AFC title game in Denver. The Broncos were working not only to stay a move ahead of the Patriots, but also to build a defense capable of pushing Manning through the fast-closing Super Bowl window.

At the time, Broncos president John Elway called it "kind of a fun arms race." Now, after a one-sided home-field loss to the Colts last Sunday, his reworked roster needs a new head coach, defensive coordinator and, likely, offensive coordinator, if not a new quarterback if Manning retires after the playoff loss to the Colts.

Result: Revis had a bad game last week in the divisional round against the Ravens, and Browner wasn't a lot better. But LaFell caught the game-winning touchdown pass that advanced the Patriots to Sunday's title game.

Result: The loaded defense gave up 265 yards passing to Andrew Luck at home, and two devastating long drives in the second half that killed the Broncos' chances. Sanders and the offense were kept out of the end zone after their first possession.

Four of the marquee signings by the two teams made the AFC Pro Bowl roster: Revis, Ware, Talib and Ward. Sanders is an alternate, giving the Broncos an edge in individual regular-season accomplishments.

On the scoreboard that counts, though, competing for the Super Bowl, it was essentially a shutout for the Patriots. Whether there is a Broncos' roster shakeup on the level of the coaching one that took out John Fox, depends on Manning's decision.

For the two future NFC title game opponents, free agency was something of an anti-arms race.

The Packers' biggest losses were wide receiver James Jones and tackle Evan Dietrich-Smith. Their biggest signing: outside linebacker Julius Peppers, who turns 35 Sunday and who was cut for cap reasons by the Bears.

Used strategically, he had seven regular-season sacks, five takeaways and two touchdowns. Against the Cowboys, he sacked Tony Romo on their first possession, and later stripped DeMarco Murray on a momentum-changing play early in the second half.

The Seahawks appeared to have the biggest offseason imbalance of all, yet are right back where they were a year ago. In the wake of their Super Bowl win, Browner, Walter Thurmond, Golden Tate, Clinton McDonald and Paul McQuistan all left as free agents. Their most notable signings, arguably, were two veterans: guard Eric Winston, cut at the end of training camp, and defensive tackle Kevin Williams, who has filled in well for the losses inside.

Who the Seahawks re-signed had a far bigger impact - they gave extensions to cornerback Richard Sherman, safety Earl Thomas and wide receiver Doug Baldwin.